Hooked
by Kaorei
Summary: <html><head></head>In which Kairi finds herself buying coffee every single day, in the same coffee shop, and all because of a certain brunet working behind the counter.</html>


_**Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts. It belongs to Tetsu****ya**** Nomura.**_

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><p><span><strong>H<strong>ooked

"A medium vanilla bean frappuccino with two pumps of java chips, topped with whipped cream and chocolate sprinkles, please," Kairi ordered. She checked her watch for the time, knowing her break was almost over. When she looked up, she found the boy behind the counter looking at her, his left eye twitching slightly.

"Please tell me you don't really want that," he said, running a hand through his untamed brown hair.

She raised an eyebrow, "As a matter of fact, I _do_."

He groaned, "Can you order something else? Like a regular coffee or something?"

The redhead stared at him in disbelief. "Are you serious?"

"Yup," he replied smugly. "Double cream, double sugar I'm guessing, since your original order is as sweet as you." He winked. He then pressed a combination of buttons on the machine. "200 munny, please."

She rolled her eyes, ignoring his failed attempt at flirting and the amount of munny needed to pay the price of her unwanted type of beverage, "Give me my vanilla bean frappuccino. Now."

"Hey, you know what you should spend your (he checked the price board behind him) 450 munny on instead?" he asked. "Something other than an over-priced drink from Paopubucks."

"You just don't know how to make it," she concluded with a straight face on.

And she was right. He smiled sheepishly, "Hah, yeah, pretty much."

She glared at him, but all he gave her was a Cheshire cat-like grin. Suddenly, the boss of the little coffee shop walked out of the back room, and over to her worker and his unsatisfied customer. She noticed the redhead's angry aura and decided to step in.

"Something wrong here?" the blonde woman asked, knowing full well that her one-week-new employee just pissed off another one of her customers. She often wondered why she didn't just fire him already.

Kairi looked at him expectantly, smirking, "Is there?"

The boy turned to his boss with a terrified look on his face as her striking green eyes pierced through his soul. "O-of course not, Larxene!" He turned to his customer, "A medium vanilla bean frappuccino with java chips, topped with whipped cream and chocolate sprinkles coming right up!"

When his boss walked away, Kairi gave him a look of disapproval as she watched him make her drink, "Are you serious?"

"What?" he asked innocently. He was a quick worker; he was already topping the frappuccino with whipped cream.

"Why'd you tell me you didn't know how to make my order?" she crossed her arms.

He chuckled as he started sprinkling the drink with little chocolate candies, "No one's behind you, so I figured I'd tease you a bit. That and you're pretty cute."

She blushed at his compliment, but she quickly pulled on a scowl when he turned around to give it to her.

She started rummaging through her wallet for the exact amount of change to pay for her drink, but was quickly interrupted when a hand rested itself upon her own.

"Don't worry about it…" he leaned over the counter to take a look at the nametag pinned on her shirt. Noticing this, Kairi swiftly turned around so he wouldn't be able to read it, but unfortunately for her, he caught it. "Kairi." He wrote her name on her cup with a black marker. "I'm Sora, by the way."

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><p>"I hate him, ugh!" the redhead exclaimed to her two co-workers as she sucked up her drink like a vacuum. It was gone in mere seconds, and this earned her strange looks from her companions.<p>

Namine, her cousin and best friend, giggled, "Oh, really?"

"It took me nearly fifteen minutes to get my drink! If it was any other worker, I would've gotten it a lot earlier, and I wouldn't have been late for my shift!" she exclaimed, flailing her arms over-exaggeratedly. "And that hair! Does he not know what a _comb_ looks like? Oh, and don't even get me started on that stupid smile on his face! I just wanna rip it right off!"

As she continued rambling and scaring off customers, Xion, another one of her best friends, decided to approach her to give the redhead her honest words, "You're hooked."

"_Excuse me?_" Kairi asked, not believing what she just heard.

The black-haired girl threw her invisible fish rod and slowly wheeled it in, "Hook, line and sinker."

Kairi pushed a laughing Xion into a pile of neatly folded clothes.

"Wow, thanks, now I have to start all over again," she pouted as she began to unfold the mess and refold them. "I wasn't lying or making fun of you, though. You're so into him."

"No, I am _not_," she growled.

The raven-haired girl threw her hands up in defense, "All right, if you say so."

"I hate you."

* * *

><p>The next day, Kairi found herself once again in front of the same Paopubucks from yesterday. There were two other ones on the first and fourth level in this huge-ass shopping mall, but she couldn't explain why she wanted to go to this one so badly.<p>

She entered the little café and walked over to the counter. Her barista from yesterday was leaning over to grab the mini packs of sugar he dropped, and when he straightened his back to greet his customer, his bored face turned into one of obvious happiness.

"You again," he wiggled his eyebrows.

She scoffed, "Gross."

"So, what'll your order be for today, Kai-Kai?"

"Don't call me that," she glared, and he just laughed. "A small green iced tea with lemonade."

He pressed away at the machine, "You know, you could get two Arizonas down at the first floor with the munny you'll be spending on this. No, actually, you'll be spending _less_ if you just listened to me."

"Shut up and tell me the price."

"250 munny, sweetheart."

She threw the coins at his face. "Don't call me that either!"

He laughed while picking up the munny from the floor, then headed over to the side to prepare her iced tea. He decided to strike up a conversation while she was still there.

"So, princess," That nickname alone earned him a smack on the head with a dozen of sugar packs. He continued, "What brings you here?"

"Um, I'm thirsty?"

He turned around and gave her a suggestive smile, "Oh, you are?" Another dozen of sugar packs was thrown at him.

"You're disgusting."

"Yes I am, and that's not what I meant." He finished her drink, wrote her name on it in clumsy writing, then handed it to Kairi, who didn't even bother to mutter a little 'thank you', thinking he didn't deserve it. "Why do you come to _this_ Paopubucks, when there are two others in the mall?"

She blushed, and ran out, leaving a confused Sora behind.

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><p>"Hooked. <em>Definitely <em>hooked," Xion said as she narrowly dodged the empty cup thrown at her.

"How many times do I have to tell you? I. Am. NOT!" Kairi screeched.

Xion looked at Namine, and Namine looked at Xion. The black-haired girl gave her friend _the_ look, and the blonde understood immediately. They both turned to Kairi with a mischievous glint in their eyes.

"Hey, Xion, I'm a bit thirsty."

"Oh yeah, same, I'm craving a chai latte, you?"

"An iced caramel latte. I heard Paopubucks make the best ones," she grinned, taking out some munny from her pocket and handing them to the redhead. "Here, Kai, why don't you get us some? Size small, please."

"Oh, I see how it is," Kairi said, snatching the bills from her relative. "Fine. But joke's on you two, I'm just gonna have to go to a _different_ one. Not the one that _idiot_ works at." She laughed maniacally as she exited the store ("Kairi, come back here, you just had your break!").

Namine looked at her friend in accord and said, "Hooked."

* * *

><p>"Back again, I see."<p>

"Shut up."

Kairi buried her face in her hands. She really did try to go to a different one, but the two others had problems. The one on the first level had a huge line that would take _at least_ twenty minutes until her turn, and the one on the fourth floor were out of ingredients to make Xion's chai latte. She had no other choice.

"So, what brings you here a second time?" he asked in a suave voice.

"Ugh, you make it sound like I come here to see _you_."

"Hey, a man can dream."

She rolled her eyes, "Two small lattes. One chai, one iced caramel."

He calculated her order and gave her the price for both without failing to tell her what she could get with the price of these two drinks ("With this 650 munny, you can buy me my lunch, and we can go have our own cute little picnic at the park nearby."). She handed over the munny her cousin gave her earlier, and told him to keep the change because _hell,_ Namine didn't deserve her 350 munny back.

"There's no way you drink this much Paopubucks in one day," he said, preparing her orders. "You're _definitely _here to see me."

"Don't get so full of yourself," she childishly stuck a tongue out. "And by the way, these are for my _friends_. Not me."

"Right, cause for some reason, they can't get these themselves."

"It's called _being a good friend_."

"No, my dear Kairi, it's called _wanting to come see that hot piece of ass who works at Paopubucks on level three because I've got a major crush on him_."

"You're the worst, Sora."

"Hey, you said my name!" he exclaimed as he handed her the lattes, both with her name on it. "Say it again! I loved the way you said it!"

"Oh, really?" He nodded, smiling brightly. "Well, too bad. That'll be the first _and_ last time you'll hear me say it." He pouted.

"HEY, QUIT THE FLIRTING AND HURRY UP, MY BREAK'S ABOUT TO END!"

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><p>"Thanks, Kairi! Where's my change?" Namine asked as she took her latte, and handed the other one to Xion.<p>

"Told them to keep it," Kairi replied smugly.

"What?" the blonde furrowed her brows. "I didn't say you could do that!"

"Well, that's what you get for making me go back-" she stopped mid-sentence, then bit her lip.

"Did I hear you say…" Xion made a pirouette and landed gracefully in front of her best friend. "_Back_?"

"Okay, first of all, _what the hell_ was that pirouette for?" she gave her a weird look. "And second of all, all right, fine, I _did _go back, but only because-"

"No need for excuses, my dear. We understand," the girl with ebony hair put an arm around Kairi's shoulders. "You're _hooked._"

"Can you _stop_ saying that?"

"Not until you admit it."

"But I'm not!"

Namine wiped an invisible tear from her eye, "She's in denial."

"I hate you guys."

* * *

><p>Days turned into weeks, and weeks turned into months, and today was her third month ordering drinks from her least favorite person in the world (or so she says). In fact, it had been exactly seventy-four days since the day she first met him.<p>

Not that she was counting.

She opened the doors and walked into the familiar little café up on level three, and looked up only to find Sora with his usual smile that never failed to piss her off.

"Kairi!" he said a little too happily.

"Ugh, don't give me that disgusting smile, Sora." She started saying his name about two weeks after they met, despite what she said about never saying it ever again. "A medium Paopu fruit smoothie. Please, tell me about all the things I can buy instead of that drink."

He grinned, racking his brain for a witty comment. "It comes to a total of 400 munny. You know, with that, you can buy four things at the dollar store."

"I'm amazed at how you can come up with such stupid comebacks without ever saying the same one."

"Yes, I am pretty amazing sometimes, aren't I?" he pulled on the straps of his apron.

"I didn't even call you amazing, you idiot."

"Yeah, but you said 'amazed' and that's pretty much the same thing as 'amazing'."

"'Amazed' as in 'astonished, surprised, astounded'."

"Close enough."

She rolled her eyes, something she often did every time she talked to him, "Just take my munny and make my smoothie."

"Sure thing, sweetheart," he said, scribbling her name on her cup. While he blended the legendary Paopu fruit with some yogurt, juice and sugar, Kairi took the time to read the menu for ideas on what to order the following day. Her sapphire eyes suddenly fell upon the words written on the little chalkboard glued on the wall.

"I'm the customer of the week?" she asked Sora, who was already pouring the liquid into her plastic cup.

"What, you just noticed?" he asked, smiling. "I wrote your name on it myself. I've got cute calligraphy, am I _write_?" He slapped his knee, and she slapped her forehead.

"That was terrible," she scanned the little black board. "And no, your handwriting is clumsy and not cute at all."

And it was like this every single day for the past three months. He'd say something stupid, she'd get annoyed, he'd prepare her drink, he'd tease her, she'd give him a comeback, she'd leave, he'd get stuck waiting anxiously for the next day or for her to come by a second time for drinks for her friends, and she'd get stuck waiting anxiously for the next day to come around as well or for any of her friends to ask her to go get them drinks.

But she'd never forget the day he was absent.

She walked over to the counter with a look of evident disappointment on her face.

"Hey there, may I help you?" asked the silver-haired barista.

"Yeah, um… is Sora here?" she asked. This was weird. Sora had always been there, serving for her, giving her that stupid smile. Where the heck was he now?

"Sorry," Her heart dropped. "He said something about a date."

"Oh…"

"So, what can I get you?"

With a frown on her face, she gave him her Kairi-is-having-a-bad-day order, "A regular coffee, please."

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><p>One whole day without that stupid, annoying, loud-mouthed, terribly flirty brunet. She thought that everything was going to be perfect. But it seemed to be the opposite.<p>

She had that horrible feeling in the pit of her stomach; that feeling you'd get when you think you were missing something.

However, she didn't think she was missing something. She _knew_ she was missing something.

"Sora," she whispered.

Namine and Xion stood quietly behind her and froze after hearing their best friend say that name.

"I think I like him," Kairi whispered, though it was loud enough for her best friends to hear. She turned around swiftly, knowing that her co-workers were there. "No, I _do_ like him. A lot."

The blonde and black-haired girl jumped up and down, screaming excitedly, happy that Kairi finally admitted it.

Xion grinned, "Told you you're-"

"Hooked?" Kairi laughed. "Yes, I know."

Despite this, she couldn't help but feel sick not only from having to go a full day without the brunet, but also because he bailed on her for someone else.

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><p>The following day, Kairi walked into her favorite Paopubucks to find Sora standing behind the counter as always.<p>

Her eyes sparkled at the sight of him, "Sora, you came today."

"Yeah, sorry I didn't come yesterday," he apologized, giving her his winning smile.

"What happened?" she asked, pretending she didn't know about the whole 'Sora went out on a date' thing, and ignoring that sinking feeling in her stomach.

He groaned, "Dinner with my parents and a couple of their friends. My parents tried to set me up with this girl, but she was definitely not my type."

"You have a type?" she scoffed. "And what exactly _is_ your type?"

He smiled, "You."

Her face turned as red as her hair. "Uh, I'm here _to get some drinks_, you know! I didn't ask for your flirting!" she exclaimed. "And that's not what your co-worker said yesterday."

"What?"

"He said you were on a date."

Sora slapped his forehead. "Stupid Riku. Yeah, as if family dinners count as dates." Suddenly, he perked up. "Wait, did you… _ask_ for me?"

She froze. "…No, I didn't."

He smirked, "Oh, of course not. And I don't suppose you missed me yesterday?"

She leaned over and punched his shoulder. With her face still steaming, she quickly made her order, "A medium vanilla bean frappuccino with two pumps of java chips, topped with whipped cream and chocolate sprinkles. Now."

"Oh, the drink you ordered when we first met," he noted; this surprised her. She didn't think he would remember. "You haven't had one since. I'll make it extra special for you by pouring all my love into it."

"Gross," she laughed.

He finished making her drink, scribbled on her cup, and handed it to her. He smiled, "Hey, you know what you should spend your time and munny on instead?"

Upon receiving it, the redhead noticed more black marker written on her drink than usual. She read it, her eyes widening and her lips slowly curving into a smile.

**A date with me.**

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><p><strong>AN:** Okay, so basically, I recently became an official regular customer at a Tim Hortons, and I just _had_ to write a oneshot about a Kingdom Hearts character as a regular customer to express my excitement. So. ASDFGHJKL.

Originally, Sora uses pick-up lines, but I'm saving that for another oneshot. :)

I feel bad writing this when I should be writing _Lucky Number Seven_. If any _LNS_ readers are reading this, _I'm sorry forgive me I love you guys don't abandon me please._

Please leave a review! :)

_**AND HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO TETSUYA NOMURA!**_


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